Bayern Munich beat Manchester United 3-1 to wrap semis berth

BERLIN, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Bayern Munich came from behind to eliminate Manchester United with a 3-1 triumph at the second leg of Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Bayern dominated the first half but failed to overcome Manchester' s well-positioned defence. After the break the visitors piled on the pressure to shock the Bavarians before Pep Guardiola?s men struck back with three goals within seventeen minutes.

The point of departure was clear for both teams; Manchester United needed a win or a higher draw than 1-1 whereas Bayern needed just a goalless draw or a triumph to seal the next round.

Bayern took the reins from the kickoff whilst the visitors defended deep and lurked for counters. However, Bayern combined their way to the box but failed to store the ball in Manchester's goal as most efforts remained short on accuracy or were blocked by keeper David de Gea.

Manchester showed no intention to threat Bayern's defence in the first half but after the restart the visitors caught the defending champions on the hop when Patrice Evra hammered home a second ball from the edge of the box to flabbergast the hosts with the opener in the 57th minute.

Bayern remained unimpressed and responded through Mario Mandzukic, who headed home a cross by Franck Ribery just 69 second later to restore parity. Wayne Rooney had the chance to give his side the lead again but the striker missed the ball from twelve meters.

The hosts cut a better figure in front of Manchester's danger zone as Thomas Mueller tapped in a square pass by Arjen Robben to make it 2-1 on the scoreboards. Nevertheless, the Bavarians were not done with the scoring since Arjen Robben also got his name on the score sheets when he scored into the bottom right following a solo run at the 76th minute.

Bayern's third goal took the wind out of Manchester's sails and killed the game to ensure the Champions League semi finals for the titleholders.

"Today it was very difficult for us but after Evra's terrific goal we dashed off to turn things around. I am very proud of what the team has reached. We are the champions in Germany and now we wrapped up the semis in the Champions League," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said.